


Love Blossom

by youaresunlight



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-16
Updated: 2014-08-16
Packaged: 2018-02-13 09:39:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2145936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youaresunlight/pseuds/youaresunlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The entire family comes together for John's birthday dinner, and Jess believes that Dean's college roommate-turned-best friend Cas just may also be his adorable boyfriend. In which Sam has a girl crush on Cas, Dean's the older brother Jess never had, John is far from a douche, Mary is wonderful, and everyone is disgustingly happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Blossom

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a lovely [gif set](http://theplushbear.tumblr.com/post/26708222943/the-family-dinner) and accompanying [prompt](http://aleatoryw.tumblr.com/post/93149167707/definitelyafangirl-the-family-dinner-ive) on Tumblr. The title is borrowed from the song "Love Blossom" by K.Will. There's lots of hugging and cavities are a definite possibility.

Jess peers over her shoulder at the gift on the backseat, checking for the umpteenth time to make sure the box isn’t sliding off onto the floor. The wrapping she’d tied and taped with meticulous care just survived a six-hour flight, and she’s not about to let something happen to it in the final twenty minutes of transport. When it’s certain that nothing save for an outrageously aggressive speed bump will crumple her handiwork, she turns back and glances over at Sam, who’s humming along with a pop track on the radio, long fingers drumming on the wheel. He’s in a great mood. 

“Who’s Dean bringing again?” she asks, smiling when Sam’s face breaks into a wide grin.

“Cas,” he replies, the affection evident in his voice. “You’ll love him. He’s...” Sam shakes his head, dimpled cheeks and all. “It’s one of those perfect college stories, right? Where you meet your roommate in freshman year and, _bam_ , you’re inseparable. He’s spent a lot time with our family and, Jess, he’s _so cool_. Totally brilliant with this sort of, I don’t know, hilariously dry sense of humor. Just the nicest guy too.”

“Sounds like you've got a crush,” Jess teases.

Sam doesn't dispute this, not even a little. "Yeah,” he sighs instead. “I don't thank him enough for always making time for me. Like, when I was applying to Stanford? He read all my essays and calmed me down and, I mean, I would've been a _wreck_ without him. Plus, he’s clearly a saint for putting up with Dean. _Five years_ of living with the jerk. Blows my mind.”

It took Jess only one date with Sam (and one weekend visit from Dean) to figure out how fond the brothers are of each other, so she just laughs at her boyfriend’s playful jibe, knowing that it’s meant completely in jest. She also thinks that Cas must be pretty incredible in person too if both Winchesters are so obviously enamored with him. 

Her curiosity, however, dwindles a bit as they pull into the restaurant parking lot and suddenly she’s a bundle of nerves, pulling down the sun visor to inspect her make up, tidy her blonde curls, wishing they’d had some time between the airport and now to properly get ready. She worries that her dress is too wrinkled, her shoes too informal, and goes to re-adjust her necklace pendant when a hand reaches out to gently wrap around hers.

“Hey,” Sam entwines their fingers together. “You okay?”

“Yeah, sorry, I’m...” she huffs at a stubborn strand of hair that keeps falling across her face, and tucks it behind one ear with a determined wave of her wrist. “Do you think your parents will like me?” It’s unusual for her to be this apprehensive about meeting new people – she’s probably as outgoing as a person can possibly be – but this is Sam, who is so important and so _good_ to her that she can hardly stand it sometimes.

“Jess, I _swear_ ,” he grins, making her melt like the first time they’d met. “They’re gonna love you. And I’m not just saying that.”

When she nods, Sam leans over the console for a brief kiss before hurrying out to open her door, and Jess can’t help but wonder how in the world she got so lucky. 

Dean is waiting for them outside under the awning, looking sharp in a blue shirt and black slacks, and as soon as Jess comes close enough he envelopes her in a tight embrace, leaving her breathless. “I’ve only told them good things,” he whispers reassuringly. “They’ll love you.” She pulls away to mouth a silent ‘thank you’ and is about to hug him again when Sam says, “Alright, Dean, you can let go of my girlfriend now.” 

Jess giggles as Dean releases her from his arms and feigns disbelief. “ _Jesus_ , did you get taller, Sammy?” He then laughs, a marvelously low, rumbling sound, at the sight of Sam dramatically rolling his eyes. “Come here, Sasquatch,” he calls and Sam quickly relents, stepping forward until they’ve pulled each other into a hug one might see between two people reuniting after years of being apart rather than a few months.

“Dean?” 

Jess turns at the unfamiliar voice to find a dark-haired (and, wow, _gorgeous_ ) guy coming out the door, positively dashing in a black suit and cobalt tie plus an overcoat that few could pull off so well. This must be Cas, she thinks, and the guess is confirmed when Sam, a giant blur of navy, tackles him in a crushing hug. She sees a pair of hands and cuff-linked wrists loop around Sam’s torso to pat his back.

“Hello, Sam,” comes the fond, muffled greeting.

Sam is smiling huge when they separate. “Cas, man, I missed you.” Tugging Cas closer to Jess, he then adds, “This is my girlfriend Jess. Jess, meet Cas.” He’s bouncing on his feet like a puppy, beyond excited to be introducing them, and Cas and Jess both chuckle as she extends a hand.

“Hi, Cas.”

“Jess, it’s great to finally meet you,” his hand is warm, and so are his disarmingly stunning blue eyes. “Sam has told me so many lovely things.”

“Likewise.”

He smiles and Jess feels a faint blush creep over her neck. Oh yeah, she absolutely understands Sam's crush.

"This powwow is sweet and all," Dean drawls, coming up to them with a cheeky grin, "but let's not keep our folks waiting."

Jess doesn’t miss Dean's hand on the small of Cas’ back as they turn to head inside. 

There’s much less tension in her shoulders now thanks to Dean and Cas (and Sam, of course, who catches up to them after grabbing the present from the car), which works out well because her smile is already genuine when Sam introduces her to his parents. Jess goes in expecting handshakes only to receive a pat on the shoulder from John, a hug from Mary, and her previous anxieties dissipate by the time they sit down at the table.

Conversations flow easily, especially with Sam and Dean seeing to it that she and Cas are fully included in them. John and Mary, for their part, are sincerely interested in getting to know Jess, and it soon becomes clear that they also share their sons’ high opinion of Cas, unsurprising since it takes all but five minutes for Jess to agree with them too. She directs some of her questions to Cas, who responds to each one with an endearing thoughtfulness, though after a while she notices Dean jumping in to answer on Cas’ behalf, not for the sake of interrupting but for the chance to rave about Cas’ achievements, particularly his formidable plan to complete an anthropology doctorate at Yale.

“I mean, it’s amazing,” Dean declares matter-of-factly. “He’s already got a grant lined up for the fall. What’s it called again, Cas? The Wenner-Gren?”

Cas is a little red now but indulges Dean’s enthusiasm. “Yes, Dean.” 

“Yeah, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Genius Future Anthropologists.”

“That is...” The color deepens on Cas’ cheeks while Mary hides a smile behind her napkin. “Dean, that’s not... quite... what it’s called.”

“Well, it’s true,” Dean insists, like a headstrong child who’s got both hands on his waist.

“That’s really impressive, Cas,” Jess concludes, both a true compliment and a means to placate Dean. “So, New Haven then, right? I’ve been told it’s beautiful in the fall. When are you moving?” 

“First week of August,” Dean replies. “We’re loadin' up the U-Haul and road-tripping out there. See a bunch of places along the way. Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Philly, the Big Apple...”

Cas watches as Dean lists off the destinations on his fingers, gaze soft and blue and completely adoring. Jess looks between them, raising an eyebrow as her inner sleuth fills in the blanks.

“We'll both be in New Haven,” Cas chimes in, finally tearing his eyes away. “Dean is starting his work at a very prestigious engineering firm.” The pride lining his voice is similar to what Jess heard in Dean’s earlier. “He held off on accepting the offer at first but they were truly persistent."

Dean shrugs like the praise is unwarranted. “I was only waiting till you were sure about Yale.”

Jess sits up straighter now, the question having sat on the tip of her tongue for over an hour. She decides that there were enough flashing neon signs to justify her asking this with a level of conviction. “How long have you two been dating?”

She doesn’t expect the silence that immediately falls across the table; it’s a bit alarming, actually. All she sees are gaping mouths and wide eyes and there's a rustle beside her as Sam shifts to lean in.

“No, Jess, they- Dean and Cas, they’re not, um-” His sentences get choppy like they always do in an awkward situation. “They’re best-”

“A month.”

Everyone except Dean turns to Cas so fast that they practically all get whiplash, and Jess almost coos at how adorable Cas looks as he shyly ducks his head. Sam makes a shocked, Martian noise that sounds something like “yarmgh” while John and Mary remain still like wax figures with their forks frozen in mid-air. Jess, meanwhile, is delighted that her hunch was right.

“You two are _so cute together_ ,” she gushes. Cas thanks her graciously as Dean reaches over to hold his hand, and just like that the silence breaks and out come a barrage of poorly enunciated questions from Sam.

“Wait- When? Um?” he sputters. “Uh, more importantly, when?”

“Yeah, I, uh, was gonna wait till after the cake but...” Dean rubs the back of his neck and Jess doesn’t believe she’s ever seen him this sheepish. “But yeah, basically we... Well, actually _I_... um, got my shit together-” he coughs when Mary clicks her tongue. “Sorry, I got my _act_ together. And... yeah, I’m lucky that Cas here s'willing to put up with me as, you know, a boyfriend too.”

“I don’t know why you always phrase it that way, Dean,” Cas frowns, brows furrowing in a way that’s somehow at once serious and charming. “I keep telling you how much I love being with you.”

" _Cas,_ " Dean protests weakly, flushing like he's pleased and also embarrassed by how pleased he is. Jess catches Sam muttering “seriously, a _saint_ ” under his breath as she says ‘screw it’ to manners and puts an elbow on the table to drop her chin in her hand, sighing at her new favorite couple.

“Well,” John clears his throat. The table goes quiet, anticipation building in the pregnant pause that follows. The air becomes a little heavy and Sam begins to fidget, but when John finishes with "We’re happy as long as you two are happy,” Mary smiles and nods, Cas beams, Dean looks like he’s about to cry, Jess sighs again, and Sam, well, he appears torn among all of those options.

They make it back to the Winchesters' home around ten o'clock that night, after cake and gifts and a _loud_ rendition of “Happy Birthday” that nearly gives the maître d’ a heart attack. John is ready to turn in so they stand at the base of the stairs to bid him good night, and perhaps it’s the light playing tricks when they see a little wetness in John's eyes as he heads up to his room, shooing at the kids to go to bed.

They're changed into t-shirts and varying colors of plaid flannel by ten-thirty, and Jess is heading back to the guest room after washing up when she spots Mary and Cas through the kitchen archway, speaking in soft voices. She's about to just walk by, as it'd be wrong to eavesdrop, but stops short at Mary lovingly patting Cas' cheek. “I’m thrilled he finally figured it out," Mary says. "Thank you for waiting for him. I know it wasn’t easy.”

Cas smiles and it’s so tender that Jess feels her heart clench a little. “It wasn’t, but I had you to talk to and... I also- I had faith that it would eventually work out for us. Dean means... He means _so much_ to me, Mary, and I’d never have given up on him.”

The slight hitch in his breath is discernible even to Jess, who slips away when Mary pulls Cas into her arms like she would with Dean or Sam. There's a lump forming in Jess' throat but she pushes it down, because tears seem inappropriate for the swelling warmth in her chest.

Sam is fretting about the guest room and fluffing the pillows on the bed, the foot of which holds a pile of folded blankets though it’s April and cozy in the house. "Hey, is this alright?" he asks as she enters, fingers brushing purposefully over a pillowcase, straightening out the fabric.

Jess doesn’t answer right away and instead walks over to him, wrapping her arms around his middle. “It’s perfect,” she murmurs contentedly, at which Sam laughs and kisses the top of her head - easy for him to do because, really, he’s too tall for his own good. When Sam leaves after telling her good night, Jess sighs, smiling like a loon, remembering how close she'd gotten to swearing off guys altogether before her bike crashed into his in the quad (whatever, she still thinks it’s romantic, klutzy or not).

She moves toward the door and hears Sam's “Oh god, Dean, come _on_ , no making out in the hallway! This is a common ar- Ow! _Cas_ , tell him to st- Dean, I swear to go- _Mom_!” There's a whole round of "bitch" and "jerk" and " _Dean_ " as well as another indignant "Cas,  _no_ , don't let him influence you!" until Mary comes to the rescue, shushing all three boys with motherly authority and sending them upstairs. Jess shuts the door, stifling the laughs bubbling out of their own accord, and happily climbs into bed, looking forward to the rest of her weekend with the Winchesters and, of course, Cas.

**Author's Note:**

> [Rebloggable link here](http://puppycastiel.tumblr.com/post/101443268005/dean-cas-sam-jess-au-the-entire-family-comes)


End file.
